Wished Away
by MadzieGray
Summary: Seven months after Sarah's adventures in the labyrinth, the now two-year-old Toby has accidentally wished Sarah away to the goblins...and where there's goblins, there's Jareth. With Toby too young to run the labyrinth and Jareth refusing to release her, what will become of her when left at the mercy of the hardly magnanimous goblin king, who now has power over her?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing save the plot and blah blah blah...**

**Jareth snorts derisively: Obviously you don't own anything; you're just some little writer trying to garner feedback on your abilities without having to deal with face-to-face criticism.**

**Sarah: It probably isn't smart to be rude to the author, Jareth. She could totally kill you or something with just a few keystrokes.**

**Me smiling evilly: Indeed I could, goblin king...Or I could totally make you sappy and fluffy and totally pathetic! MUAHAHA!**

**Jareth stares in something like horror:...You wouldn't.**

**Me: But I could.**

**Jareth: But you wouldn't.**

**Me: I dunno, goblin king...I CAN be cruel...**

**Sarah giggles. **

**Jareth glares at us both: Don't you have a story to begin, writer? **

**Me: Oh, yeah, that. Well, here it is, my first Labyrinth fanfiction! Please don't forget to leave a contribution in the little box on your way out!**

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"Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave." The tone in which the words were spoken was equally cajoling and compelling, but Sarah didn't pay them any mind. She was too busy trying to remember the damn line. _My kingdom as great, my kingdom as great…_

She didn't notice that she was muttering out loud, her eyes unfocused as she tried to picture the words on the page; it hadn't been too hard to figure out that her own little adventure was just a teensy bit similar to the girl's own in the book she had been reading in the park ages ago. The words had worked for the girl in the story; why not for her?

_They probably would if you could remember the line!_ She thought furiously at herself, trying not to glance at the powerful Goblin King, afraid she might wind up cast under the same spell that had had her in that stupid ballroom. Wait a minute…power…

A light bulb clicked inside her mind, and she looked up into the handsomely thin face of the king, who was staring at her expectantly as he held out the crystal balanced on his fingertips closer to her. An enticing picture, sure, but Sarah needed Toby back, whether the Goblin King meant his offer or not.

"You have no power over me." And with those six little words, fifteen year old Sarah Williams defeated the Goblin King.

_**Seven months later**_

Sarah lightly pranced down the stairs for breakfast, hoping that Irene, the woman who Sarah had hated for no reason other than that she wasn't her mother and now hated because she the woman was an absolute witch with a capital B, would be nice if she saw Sarah in a good mood. A lot had changed in the six months that Sarah had done the most selfish thing in her young life, the first and foremost being Sarah herself; she stopped dressing like a fantasy character, she had gotten rid of the junk in her room and had only allowed certain items to be incorporated into the new, slightly more mature décor of her room. She had eventually stopped being an angst-ridden, petulant teenage-brat, and had settled for only arguing when she really was being treated unnecessarily poorly. Like when the now two-year old Toby had gotten ahold of Sarah's sketchbook and had ruined numerous drawings, prepared to do nothing more than accept it as an accident only to find that Irene had purposely given him the book to color on. Sparks had flown on that night, only to be extinguished when Robert came home. If Sarah and Irene had one thing in common, it was their love for Robert. They had an unspoken agreement that they could hate each other as much as they wanted, but when Robert was around, they were on their best behavior.

And as for Toby…Sarah had actually grown to like the little tyke. How could she not? He had a naturally sweet disposition (not taking into account your normal toddler behavior, of course) and these big blue eyes and angelic blonde curls that just made her want to pick him up and squeeze him until he squealed with laughter. Which he now did frequently when in her presence, as when he used to just bawl and wail from her neglect.

Irene had made eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast for breakfast. Sarah smiled; if Irene had made food that she knew Sarah liked, than it was bound to be a good morning between them, wasn't it?

"Morning," she chirped as she approached the table, planting a kiss on Toby's soft hair as she passed his high chair.

"Sawah!" he shouted gleefully, banging his spoon on his little plastic plate, "Good mor-ing Sawah!" she grinned at him as she took her place at the table beside her father. His baby-talk was just too cute.

"Toby! Good morning Toby!" she said happily, careful not to shout so as to not annoy Irene, "Morning, Dad." She said, rolling her eyes when she received an absent reply, her father's eyes staying glued to that day's newspaper. She looked at her stepmother. "Good morning Irene."

Irene, with her hair and makeup perfectly (if a bit stuffy and pretentious in Sarah's opinion; staying home with Toby required _real_ pearl stud earrings and lipstick?) done, gave Sarah a small smile.

"Good morning, Sarah." She said, her polite and impersonal tone mirroring Sarah's. Robert hadn't known what to make of the sudden truce between his wife and daughter, and it had taken a few months before he stopped warily watching the two for signs of aggression whenever they were in the same room together, but now he didn't even bat an eyelash when the two were polite to one another.

Looking down, Sarah was glad to see an unused plate at her place setting, and began place food on it. While Sarah had actually never been a picky eater, despite delving into all other degrees of difficulty and bratiness, there were still just certain foods that didn't agree with her palette. Like oatmeal, for instance; she _hated_ oatmeal. And for a week straight not too long ago, that was all Irene had made for breakfast, probably in retaliation for Sarah showing up fifteen minutes late for babysitting Toby. And that time her tardiness hadn't been her fault in any way possible; the bus she used to take home had been running late.

Breakfast passed as uneventfully as it could with a toddler at the table, and twenty minutes later Sarah was dressed in jeans, white keds, a more grown-up version of the baggy poets shirts she used to wear, and a denim jacket. Her clear, pale peach skin and light green-gray eyes were makeup free, but even without the enhancement of cosmetics, Sarah was one of the loveliest girls in her class. Looking more and more like her mother every day, as her father would have said. But Sarah still didn't see it; she just saw a slim, dark haired girl with eyes that could never decide between being gray and green, and a nose that Irene dubbed "enviable."

Although her body had matured a tad more in the seven months since she had wished her baby brother away to the big bad goblin king; her face had lost just a bit of its baby fat, and she had grown out of her training bras. Irene had told her, on one of the rare occasions where she was being completely and absolutely nice to Sarah, that she made a gorgeous girl, but would grow into a beautiful woman. She'd blushed and said thanks, but hadn't responded beyond that; she'd been too flustered.

School past by in a blur; despite being a daydreamer, and a bit of inside-the-box thinker, she actually got good grades. Not great, mind you, but they were nothing to complain about. What she had trouble with mostly was math; it wasn't that she didn't so much understand it, she just hated numbers with a passion. All of the formulas and symbols and what not…she loathed it all. But her father, an accountant, helped her when he could and tried to dumb things down for Sarah when necessary. Add on the fact that she felt any skills beyond those of basic arithmetic were completely and absolutely useless (seriously; when would you ever need to find "x" in real life?) and math and Sarah Williams would never be friends.

She excelled in reading and writing, was athletic enough to garner some enjoyment out of gym, and didn't mind history or geography, but she was still relieved when the school day was over. No matter how hard she'd tried, she'd never fit in with kids her age, and over the years she stopped caring about having friends and was simply grateful that no one bullied her, unlike some of the other students who were different. So all in all, besides an education, school did absolutely nothing for Sarah.

She happily walked in the front door of her home later that day, but cringed when the sounds of a fussy Toby reached her ears. Her parents were probably trying to get ready for some event or dinner party that they had to go to, and Toby hated it when he felt like he was being ignored.

"Dad? Irene?" she called, walking to the stairs.

"Oh, Sarah, thank goodness." Her father appeared at the top of them, holding Toby, who was currently bawling. "We were wondering what to do with this little guy, but now that you're here…?" He still hesitated whenever he had to ask her to do something for Toby, expecting the old Sarah to rear her head and start yelling and crying about the unfairness of it all. She smiled and dumped her backpack on at the foot of the stairs, going to take Toby from his arms. Robert threw her a grateful smile.

"Thanks, honey. Irene and I are just about ready. Would you mind putting Toby down for a nap? He didn't want to take one earlier, and it shouldn't interfere with his bedtime."

"Sure; no problem." She looked at the already quieting toddler, smiling. "See? I'll tell you a nice story, and then you can take a nap with Lancelot, okay?" He nodded, sniffling.

"Wanna tory." He mumbled, and Sarah, used to his baby talk, knew that he had actually meant "want a story."

"How about I tell one with goblins and girls and kings?" she asked, making her voice excited as she went into what was no Toby's nursery; he'd been moved out of his parent's room not too long ago.

"Kay." Toby answered, rubbing at his eyes. She knew he was scrubbing at the drying tears, but he was also probably getting tired, having not had a nap recently. He'd likely conk out before Sarah finished her story.

Ever since wishing Toby away to Jareth, King of the Goblins seven months ago, and then fighting to get him back, she'd treated him, and everyone else for that matter, a lot better. Those thirteen (no, correction; he'd stolen about four hours from her, so it was actually nine) hours had changed her, due largely to the fact that she'd learned so many lessons whilst travelling through his labyrinth. She smiled as she set Toby in his little toddler-bed and pulled the rocking chair that was in his room to the bedside. Once Toby was situated, Sarah began her story.

"Once upon a time, there lived a young girl who was selfish, and spoiled, and thought that no one cared about her, all because she had to watch her little baby brother sometimes. She treated everyone around her unfairly, accusing them of treating her poorly, and grew to dislike the baby, who was nothing but a sweetheart."

Nibbling on her lip, Sarah continued. "And one night, when the baby was just being a little fussy, and the girl's parents had left her all alone with him, the girl yelled and yelled, feeling sorry for herself and blaming the child. Fed up and tired, she picked up the child, and called upon the goblin king."

"'I wish—" she caught herself, just barely stopping before she spoke those evil words. She'd run the labyrinth for Toby once; she wasn't sure she could do it again! Besides; that would mean facing the goblin king again, and she didn't think he would be too magnanimous if they came face to face again. "And so the girl wished her brother away to the goblins, who immediately took the child and left the girl to deal with their dangerous and clever king."

Toby was staring at her, a tiny frown marring his face. "That not how it go."

"What, Toby?" she asked, blinking at him.

"Girl said "I wish da gobbins would come and tay you away right now." Toby said patiently, and Sarah gaped at her brother. No…it couldn't work…not with Toby being so young…he'd only been reciting those words….Jareth wouldn't be that cruel…

But when the electricity clicked off and goblins began to peek out of the furniture, Sarah mentally slapped herself upside the head. _Of course_ Jareth would be that cruel. And now that the goblins knew Sarah and Toby, they'd come right on over to claim the wished away child.

"Sawah?" Toby cried, moving closer to her, eyes on the fuzzy goblins that were popping out of random things. He sounded afraid, yes, but was that _curiosity_ in his tone she heard? Then again, he had spent some time with these magical creatures; it was bound to have had some effect on him. Maybe in some way he remembered his time in the labyrinth?

She grit her teeth, expecting at any moment to find herself in Jareth's castle, surrounded by goblins and with his majesty staring down at her with a smug expression on his face, but nothing happened. Her eyes darted around the room, flicking back to the window every few seconds, just waiting for Jareth disguised as an owl to come barging through. She began to hyperventilate when she saw a goblin peek out at her from under the bed, which was much, much too close for her liking. Toby gasped, and when she looked back at him, his sweet little face was staring not at her or the goblins, but at something standing directly behind Sarah…

She closed her eyes in defeat when a long fingered hand clasped her shoulder, just a little too tight for her liking, and something soft tickled her as cool breath hit her ear, making her shudder lightly. The devestatingly familiar tones of the goblin king purred into her ear.

"Good to see you again, _Sarah."_


	2. Chapter 2

**Me: Well, back for another chapter. Wonder what's gonna happen to poor Sarah?**

**Sarah pouts: Why did I have to be wished away? It's not like it counts; Toby didn't know!**

**Jareth and I at the same time: What's said is said.**

**Sarah: …Just get on with this! I wanna rail and rant at Jareth already, or whatever it is I'm gonna do to him. **

**Me: Watch it missy; I can have you licking his boots and professing your undying love and devotion with just a few taps of my fingers…**

**Jareth: Interesting…*glances at me* Groveling Sarah aside, am I to be a Dark Jareth in this story or no?**

**Me: Umm…well, I don't have you beating Sarah or being maliciously and absolutely horrible to her, but you're by definition not a nice, fluffy guy your majesty. But do you do anything else in this story that would label you a Dark Jareth? No. You're more like Sorta-Nice-But-Still-Bad Jareth.**

**Sarah: Wait, what do you mean "bad?" I'm not about to be mistreated am I?**

**Me, rolling my eyes: Think of it like this; you won't be any more mistreated than you were in the movie, okay? Except for the whole having the cleaners sicked on you bit; that actually could have gotten you killed, and at the moment I don't plan on endangering your life.**

**Jareth, now pouting: Well if she had just flirted back with me…**

**Sarah: You were trying to intimidate me! How am I supposed to flirt with someone who's doing there darndest to be scary and powerful? *pause* Besides, I was the heroine; we're not supposed to flirt with bad guys.**

**Me: Okay children, moving on. I imagine there are people who would like the chapter to start now…**

**Enjoy!**

"_Good to see you again, Sarah."_

Sarah squeezed her eyes shut tighter, her hands curling into fists as she sat there, feeling the goblin king behind her.

_Oh no oh no oh no oh no_...

"Gobbin king?" Toby said, and Sarah's eyes popped open. Sure it had been Sarah who'd been wished away, but Toby had been the wisher; did that give Jareth power over him? Sarah felt more than saw Jareth's head turn to look at the boy. She could practically feel his pointy smile as he studied the child.

"You remind me the babe." He said, a laugh in his accented voice. Toby stared at him confused. "What, Toby? Don't you remember me? And to think of all the fun we had back in my castle…"

"Leave him alone, goblin king." Sarah said quietly but firmly, eyes on Toby's bedspread; blue with yellow dump-trucks all over it. She clenched her jaw when a gloved finger reached around her face, trailing down her cheek in a swift motion down to her chin, where it caught ahold and jerked her to face towards Jareth.

He looked exactly the same as when he'd approached her after she wished Toby away; same wild blonde hair, same angularly attractive face, and in his strange black armor, complete with cape and the fanning collar. And of course, glitter fell in a nimbus around him. His smile was sharp and predatory, and one long brow was arched in cruel amusement.

"Now, Sarah, why so quiet? You didn't seem to have any problem speaking in my presence before." His eyebrows winged up in feigned shock when she didn't respond; what good would throwing insults do her? She was already about as screwed as she could get. With Toby not being able to run the labyrinth, and Jareth probably not about to let bygones be bygones and allow her to go on her merry way…she was probably about to become a goblin or be thrown into another oubliette.

She didn't like either option very much.

"Oh well; they'll be plenty of time for talk later." He held up a hand, conjuring a crystal identical to the ones he'd conjured in the labyrinth and when he'd offered her dreams to her in exchange for Toby. He offered the pretty thing to the boy, who stared at it.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice small and filled with awe.

"It's a crystal; nothing more. But if—" Sarah interrupted before he could finish his little speech, a tiny furrow appearing between her eyebrows. Did he really need to go through the whole routine? It was obvious that Toby wouldn't—_couldn't_—fight for her, so why couldn't Jareth just gloat and get this over with?

"Jareth, just give him the crystal and turn me into a goblin already; this is pointless." She said, and Toby's eyes widened.

"Don't want Sawah be gobbin!" Toby cried, blue eyes widening as he realized what he'd just done and the consequences his actions. "Didn't mean to wish Sawah away!"

Jareth tsked at Toby. "What's said is said. Sarah precious will be coming with me, and you my boy shall have your dreams."

"No! Want Sawah!" he said, tears coming into his eyes. Jareth shook his head.

"Now now, none of that, Toby. The only way you could have her back is if I let you try and solve my labyrinth, but you're far too young for me to even _consider_ allowing in there."  
"Am not." Toby sniffled, "I could do it."

"Nevertheless, I won't allow it. Now, take the crystal, Toby." His voice became soft and hard to resist…and exactly like how it had been when he'd tried to convince her not to fight for Toby. She hoped Toby gave in; she didn't want him anywhere near that damn overgrown maze. She could imagine all too well how many different ways he could get hurt…and besides, he was only two for crying out loud! The labyrinth had stumped her and she had been fifteen! What chance did a toddler have of solving it within the thirteen hours? "Go play with your cars and crayons…let me take Sarah."

She saw the struggle on her brother's face. "Don't want Sawah a gobbin."

Jareth smiled in a way she figured he thought was reassuring. "Fear not, Toby. I have other plans for Sarah."

_Oh goody…he has _plans_ for me._ Sarah thought, her mouth twisting ruefully. She was frightened, of course, but mostly it all felt too surreal for her to be well and truly scared. Toby's lower lip stopped wobbling almost immediately, and he looked at her, his expression clearing as the threatening tears disappeared.

"Oh…" he said, watching Sarah, apparently waiting for her approval. She figured that her stricken expression was about the only thing stopping him from lunging for the crystal, and placed a small smile on her mouth that was more just the barest upturning at the corners of her lips than anything else. Might as well have the kid be happy; no sense in them both being miserable. His big eyes switched back to Jareth. "Okay, I take cree-stall."

Jareth's smile became an evil grin. "Perfect," he said, lightly tossing it to Toby. It landed in his pudgy hands He stood up behind Sarah, a hand resting possessively on her shoulder again, slowly moving her long hair over her shoulder, gloved fingers lightly caressing her neck. Much like she had earlier, she shivered at his touch. She knew he'd seen her flinch, and got the idea that he took satisfaction from her cringing. "Say your goodbyes, Toby."

A single tiny tear fell from his baby blue eyes, and Sarah's throat went tight. "Bye-bye Sawah. Miss you."

"Bye, Toby. I'll miss you too." _Bye Dad, bye Merlin, bye Irene, bye room, bye books, bye park…_ She bit her lip, trying hard to not fall apart, but to instead convert her despair into cold hard anger at Jareth. Once they were out of Toby's sight and back in the labyrinth, she was going to give his goblin king butt a piece of her mind, and the consequences could go royally screw themselves. He probably wouldn't do anything worse to her than what he already planned on doing.

And maybe she could throw her six little words back into his face, just to show him who won the first time around. Who knew; they might work like they did last time.

There was no flash or poof of glitter as they disappeared, it was just as if they were there one second and the next they weren't. A few tears escaped Toby's eyes as he thought of never seeing Sarah again, but they stopped coming as he gazed into the pretty crystal, almost already forgetting his pretty, dark haired sister…

**Me: Ooooh, another cliffhanger! Aren't I evil? Don't fret though; I already have the third chapter in the works, but I broke it off here for continuity purposes. It starts right where we left off, so don't worry about missing out on any potential fun-moments between J and S.**

**Jareth: Well well…Sarah now completely at my mercy… *smiles evilly***

**Sarah and Me simultaneously: Knock it off, Jareth! **

**Me: I might give you some romantic inclinations, goblin boy, but trust me when I say could just as easily make you evil and completely unsympathetic and unfangirled! So unless you want to be a Dark Jareth, I suggest you wipe that perverted look off your face. It ruins your pretty features.**

**Sarah snickers: Yeah, Jareth. Ruins your pretty features.**

**Jareth glowers: Miss MadzieGray, I highly suggest that you refrain from calling me demeaning names. I AM a king you know.**

**Me, snorting: Yeah, of diminutive dimwits. Granted they're cute and all, but still. **

**Sarah: I still feel bad for Toby…but at least he got a pretty crystal. **

**Me: Yeah, and I had Jareth wipe his memories. He didn't want memories of Sarah to upset or confuse him.**

**Sarah grumbles: Still don't see why I had to be wished away…**

**Me: Cuz you're the idiot who decided to relay your adventures to a toddler, now scoot! I'm wrapping up the chapter!**

**Jareth sighs and leaves in a glitter-poof, and Sarah sulks as she walks away, mumbling about bossy writers.**

**Me: Bye! See you at the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Me: Hello again faithful viewers! I'd just like to thank anyone who reviewed the story, and also just to thank people for continuing to read this!**

**Jareth: How could they not want to read? It has me in it, doesn't it?**

**Sarah rolls her eyes: You are SO self-centered, Jareth.**

**Jareth: Yes, but you love me anyway.**

**Sarah's face contorts in disgust and she gags dramatically. Jareth pouts. I roll my eyes. **

**Me: Now, now children, can't we all just play nice while I do the intro? Honestly.**

**Sarah: Oh, speaking of the story, is this the part where I get to tell Jareth off?**

**Me, looking back through what I've written: In my exact words, you're "going to give his goblin king butt a piece of your mind."**

**Sarah: Sweet!**

**Me: Once again, thank you to all the people who've read the story and liked it enough to actually continue reading it. And to the reviewers, thank you thank you thank you! A thousand times, thank you! Feedback is the whole reason I started posting the stuff I was writing.**

**Okay, now that you've been properly thanked, commencing chapter. Hope you like!**

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Jareth's grip on her should was the only thing keeping Sarah anchored as she suddenly found herself in the throne room she had happened upon when searching for him and Toby for that final confrontation, and felt a slight sensation of vertigo. Odd, she hadn't felt anything when Jareth had brought her to the hillside when she'd insisted on running the labyrinth. Nothing but the sudden feeling of being outdoors and a soft breeze blowing through her hair, that is.

She stood stock still as Jareth placed his free hand on her other shoulder, and pulled her so that her back was pressed flush against his front.

"Now this is a change, isn't it precious thing?" his voice was like a velvet wrapped dagger—soft, but with a definite edge.

"What's a change, goblin king?" Sarah asked, her tone betraying none of her nervous emotions but conveying all of her impudence and anger. He chuckled and placed his lips directly above her ear, the strands of his hair that stuck out near the top of his head tickling her face.

"Having power over you." He murmured. "Damned if it doesn't feel good." A bitter streak ran strongly through that statement, and Sarah repressed a sigh. _So, here it comes, whatever hardship and torture he's got waiting for me._

_Well you're in for a shock, goblin king, because I'm not about to whimper and beg for mercy._

Sarah brushed him off roughly and moved to stand away from him, turning sharply on her heel to face him as she crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her chin out, the perfect picture of defiance.

"You didn't win any power; Toby wished it on you." Sarah sharply retorted, "Why don't you just throw me down whatever oubliette you have lined up or drown me in the Bog of Eternal Stench already and get this over with? Since you apparently don't plan on turning me into a goblin, that is."

Jareth, now in the heavy jacket and black breeches he'd worn in the Escher room (how on earth was he always finding time to change his outfits?), stood watching Sarah with his arms folded elegantly across his chest, completely mirroring her own stance. A smirk lifted one side of his mouth, and she tried to ignore how attratractive he looked, focusing on appearing fearless. Then again, the last time she hadn't shown her fear, she'd wound up being chased by the cleaners and losing a few hours time.

"Now Sarah, why would I ever want to throw you into an oubliette or drown you in the bog?" his tone was a playful one Sarah often heard adults use with children who had just said something that was impossible but was still amusing to hear. She glared.

"Maybe because the last time I was here we didn't exactly part on the best of terms?" she said acerbically.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Sarah, Sarah, surely you don't blame me for taking Toby, do you? I _was_ only acting on someone's wish, you know." He shook his head, mockingly sad. "One would think you would have learned to take responsibility for your actions by now."

A strong wave of anger welled up in her, but she beat it down. "No, goblin king, I don't blame you for taking Toby." She bit out from behind her clenched teeth, narrowing her eyes. "And you know why that's not why we left on such bad terms."

Jareth made a noise of agreement. "True, precious thing, true. As I recall, some little chit refused my most generous offer of servitude in exchange for her _wished away brother_, and proceeded to try and defeat me with a monologue from a child's book."

Well when he put it like that…

"I didn't want Toby to be taken away, not deep down." She snapped at him, "And I wasn't selfish enough to let Toby suffer for my mistake by accepting your "generous offer."" She only just refrained from making little air quotes with her fingers. He probably wouldn't have understood it anyway. She smirked.

"Besides; it worked, didn't it? I got Toby back in the end."

"And just wound up being wished away by the babe months later." He shook his head again, a fond smile on his lips. "How did that happen, by the by? Toby can barely pronounce certain words from what I heard, and he seemed to be ironically sweet on you. So how ever did he manage to wish you away?"

A heat suffused her cheeks, turning them a pretty pink, as she thought of the "story" she'd been telling Toby. "I was telling him a story, and he said the words because he thought it was a line that one of the characters said."

An eyebrow winged up. "And said line just happened to be the right words?"

She blushed harder, this time with annoyance. "In his mind, yes. The right words were the line."

Jareth's trademark sharp smile emerged. "Interesting." He moved towards her a hand reaching out towards her hair, and she batted it away before it could reach her long locks.

"Goblin king, why don't you just get on with your big evil plan already? I'm sure it's a doozy."

Laughter bubbled from his thin lips, and it was both cackling and seductive at the same time, so much so that it made her skin crawl. And not that she wanted to admit it, but the feeling of gooseflesh breaking out on her body wasn't entirely caused by non-pleasurable feelings.

"Precious thing, when I said my plans for you had nothing to do with you becoming a goblin, I see I failed to mention that it also had nothing to do with tossing you in an oubliette or into the bog. Or anything else unpleasant for that matter."

"Then what do they have to do with?" she asked suspiciously, eyeing the space between them. Personally, she would have liked another foot or two between her and Jareth.

"_Your eyes can be so cruel,"_ Jareth sang at her, a grin on his face. Sarah wanted to slap it off.

"Yes, yes, yes, just as you can be so cruel and all that." She said, her green/gray eyes flashing. "Just tell me already, goblin king. What are you planning on doing with me?"

There was a dulling in the edge to his smile, although it didn't make it look any less dangerous. No, it made it almost look…_flirtatious?_ What was _that_ about?

"If I had to be honest, Sarah, I would have to say that I plan on doing _many_ things with you," he quickly stepped closer until he was all that was in her line of vision, reminding her of how he'd stalked towards her in the Escher room right before he walked through her. He put his gloved hands on her waist, which had shrunk into a more womanly curve during the seven months since her last visit to the labyrinth, and dragged her closer so forcefully she almost tripped. Without thinking she put her hands out to break her fall, and she wound up clutching the cloth covering Jareth's chest as she stared up at him. "But that a large part of those things include _this."_ He said, and swooped down to press his lips to hers.

She made a noise of shock that was muffled by his mouth over hers, and clung to him even more when she realized that she would risk falling over if she let go, being bowed against his body as she was.

_Well _this_ isn't what I expected._

Jareth's lips were surprisingly soft in texture despite looking so harsh, but having never been kissed in her life besides the pecks on the cheek or forehead her father gave her, she found the way they surged against hers overwhelming and too much to take in. She thought about trying to knee him in his crystals or shove her fist into his gut, but she didn't have enough room between their bodies to maneuver her arm or leg into position. She started to wiggle and twist her head from side to side, trying to dislodge his mouth so she could _breathe_. With a chuckle he pulled back, but his hands stayed tightly on her waist, his fingers flexing on her flesh in a not-too-gentle squeeze.

"What was that!?" Sarah spluttered, shoving at his chest with all the strength in her arm muscles.

His fingers didn't budge a bit.

"Precious, surely you're not so innocent as to not know what _that_ was?" Throaty laughter sounded from his cruel lips. Sarah's face burned with a mixture of embarrassment and anger. Damn Jareth, what was he _ really_ up to?

"I know what _that_ was," she almost snarled as she glowered at him, the ache in her lips hard to deny. "What I meant—"

Jareth interrupted her.

"Unlike everything else in the Labyrinth, Sarah, words are spoken as they are meant." For a second his strange pupils bored into hers, and Sarah forgot to breathe. "You might take care to remember that, considering that your about to have a _very_ extended stay here."

He leaned in closer, his cool breath gently hitting her face. "And you might also like to hear that my plans for you involve doing you no harm whatsoever…unless of course you ask for it."

Sarah slightly shook her head, her thoughts becoming one big jumbled mess. Between being wished away, being kissed by Jareth, and trying to process what he was saying to her now, she was having some trouble thinking past her emotions to clearly process all that was happening.

"But what are you saying? I don't…" she shook her head. "Why the hell aren't you gloating over all of this and dangling me above the bog to watch me squirm?" she was trying to not look directly at him, and that was sort of easy considering their height differences, but she felt stupid conversing with his chest, which was thankfully completed covered to the neck unlike how it was when he wore his poets shirts.

He pursed his lips in thought. "Well I suppose I could do that, but it would grow tiring after a while, I think. Besides, that's a sight I've already seen. It wasn't that interesting the first time around."

So he had seen her when she'd been trying to walk on the bridge in the bog and it had crumbled underneath her, leaving her to grasp onto a vine for dear life or risk smelling bad for all eternity. Still seeing her confusion, Jareth released her and sighed.

"Sarah, did you not listen when I said that words are taken at their meaning here?"

She frowned. "Of course I listened."

"So it hasn't occurred to you that my generous offer wasn't meant as simply a means to win Toby?"

She blinked a few times. "Umm…" His mouth twitched.

"That's what I thought."

Sarah's patience snapped at his patronizing statement. She might not have been completely the same girl she'd been seven months ago, but she still had all the spirit she'd possessed when she'd run the labyrinth.

"Look, goblin king, just tell me what you're going to do to me already! I've been wished and you now _do_ have some power over me, so stop toying with me and take your revenge already!"

That was most definitely the _wrong_ thing to say, if the frost that suddenly overcame Jareth was any indication. His eyes seemed to darken, the strands of hair that fell near his eyes suddenly made him look menacing, and the look on his face could have frozen fire. She questioned how wise it had been to antagonize him, but figured that it was too late to take it back.

"Sarah," Jareth's voice was icier than she'd ever heard it, "I was not lying when I said I could be cruel…_don't defy me._"

"Or what, goblin king?" Sarah said, suddenly feeling very, very tired. She was never going to see her family again, and had just had to kiss everything in her life goodbye so she could be dragged to…what had Hoggle called it one of their numerous conversations? The Underground?

Not knowing how this had happened, Sarah suddenly found herself being held in the air by a single gloved hand on her throat, which was oddly enough not choking the daylights out of her. Jareth lifted her up to his eyelevel, so close that she could see in detail every fine line on his face, although it actually did nothing to diminish what Sarah thought were attractive features. She knew from Sir D. and Hoggle that Jareth actually looked pretty damn good for his age, considering that he was older than human history could probably remember.

"Sarah," he almost spat the words from behind his barely moving lips, "Do not test me, child. One would think you would have learned when to hold your tongue by now."

Sarah stared steadily back at him, hoping that she wasn't showing how badly her skin was feeling from being grasped in a leather glove; she was probably going to have bruises for sure.

"One would think." She replied, steady as a rock.

Jareth still looked furious, but he gave her a grudging smile. "Always stubborn. Would it really be so hard for you to cower once in a while?"

"Yes, it would."

Jareth rolled his eyes and sighed, lowering Sarah to her feet. She wondered where his anger had gone because he looked weary more than anything now. Then again, she had been trying his patience; maybe he _was_ tired.

"Jareth," she said, and after closing her eyes for a brief second, opened them and continued. "Will you please tell me what's going to happen to me?"

He stared for a second, and she thought maybe her quiet question and current situation had earned her some pity points.

"You will not be mistreated, Sarah, but do not think that I will tolerate having my generosity thrown back in my face _for a second time."_

She wanted to ask what he'd been generous about, but didn't. He _had_ technically been doing as she'd asked…taking Toby, being the villain in her own little adventure, but she'd never actually understood how reordering time had been something she'd asked him to do; he'd been the one benefiting from stealing time off her clock. And fine, so maybe not turning her into a goblin or throwing her down the darkest oubliette he could find was sort of generous, but she'd have liked him better had he just let her stay home, with her family…

Holy crap, what was her family going to think when they found her missing? What would Toby tell them? Her poor father, how would he feel, losing his daughter? He might have been a little oblivious, but he still cared about her deeply, and she had always loved him.

"But what do you plan to do with me?" Sarah persisted, wondering why he wouldn't just spit it out. He raised an eyebrow at her, his patience reaching its end as he gave her a look that called her an idiot.

"Sarah, I made that offer in the Escher room…I'm not going to abuse you…I just bloody well kissed you. What do you think I want?" she shook her head, rubbing a hand on her brow.

"I don't have the foggiest, goblin king. I guessed vengeance, but that wasn't it, so now I've got nothing."

He put a finger under her chin and looked at her, making her just a tad uncomfortable with his closeness.

"Sarah, precious," the hand not grasping her chin stroked her cheek with the pad of its thumb. "Don't you think I was serious with my offer? 'Fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave?'" he raised his eyebrows at her. She shook her head.

"If I'd accepted you'd have kept Toby."

He made a noise of frustration deep in his throat. "Not if he hadn't wanted me to! I'd have returned the babe home had you 'won' or had you accepted my offer, if that is what you asked of me." He took a deep breath, "Sarah, I—"

The sound of a door opening interrupted Jareth, and they both turned towards the main entrance to the throne room. Odd; Sarah hadn't remembered there being doors…Oh, wait, yes there had been. They'd just been wide open for her already and she hadn't paid them any mind.

The familiar lumpy visage of Hoggle the dwarf poked his head in, making Sarah smile, but it dimmed after a few seconds. _What had Jareth been about to say? Do I really want to know right now? Maybe it's best we just continue this conversation later, when I don't feel so tired and can actually process what he's saying. If he's saying what I think he might be saying, that is…_

"Your majesty, I—" Hoggle's gravelly voice cut off as he caught sight of Sarah, standing with the goblin king's hands still on her. _"Sarah?_ What the…" Hoggle turned to Jareth, his ugly face surprisingly furious. "Jareth! You rat! What've you done—"

Sarah stopped him from damning himself any further. Jareth had followed through on his threat to send him to the Bog of Eternal Stench if Sarah kissed him, and lo and behold, as soon as she'd pecked his bumpy cheek, they'd fallen through a trap door and landed right in the bog. Sarah had blushed and apologized when Hoggle had grumpily told her this as they sat in her room one day, and Sarah had questioned why they'd been sent to the bog.

"I'm fine, Hoggle." She grimaced at her words; fine wasn't exactly the adjective she'd like to use right now, but it was the only one she could say in front of both Hoggle and Jareth. "Toby accidentally wished me away. Jareth didn't do anything." She added the last bit reluctantly, but knew that it was the way to stop Hoggle from doing something rash. He'd gained some courage over the seven months since their meeting, and considered Sarah a good friend.

Jareth smirked at Sarah. "Thank you, precious, for so valiantly defending me." He turned to Hoggle, who was still staring dumbstruck, expression darkening. "And as for you, Hogwart; what do you want?"

"What'd ya mean Toby wished ya 'way, Sarah? Tot can't even say your name right; how'd he manage to spit out the right words?"

Sarah blushed. "I'll explain later." She said, trying to force a smile. All she wanted to do was flop onto the nearest bed and sob her heart out, not stand here and argue with Jareth and Hoggle.

Jareth's black voice cut in. "Higgle." He growled. "Get on with it."

Hoggle glared at Jareth, but it was clear his courage was fading fast. Seven, even four months ago, Hoggle would have been visibly quaking at the king's tone.

"I's told there'd been another wished away and were's coming to see if you wanted me go to man the entrance or not." If Hoggle could have paled he would have, and suddenly stared at the two in horror. "Toby ain't running is he?"

Sarah quickly shook her head, frowning. "No, of course not. Do you think I'd let that happen?" Jareth frowned at her.

"Dearest, had I wanted Toby to run, there would have been little you could have done to stop me." He glanced back at Hoggle, his tone scathing. "Of course I wouldn't have let the babe run, you little scab. As is, I gave him a crystal and erased his memories."

Her head snapped in his direction so she could gape at him in shock. "What?"

Jareth spared her a glance. "When it comes to wishes, the only one who is allowed to remember how life was before it was altered is the wisher. Everyone else forgets and thinks the tampered life is the one they have always lived. However, being so young and clearly missing you, I decided it would be best if he didn't recall you or the wish at all."

Sarah stared, her mind have trouble wrapping around the concept. They would all forget her? Toby, Dad, Karen, Merlin…her mother? She felt the prickle of tears in her eyes, but blinked them away before either Hoggle or Jareth noticed.

"I've no need of you, Hobble. Go about your usual business."

Hoggle shook his head and stubbornly crossed his arms. "Not while you've got Sarah I won't!" Jareth sighed dramatically.

"Hubble," Jareth began, sounding like he had when he'd surprised them after Hoggle had helped her from the oubliette, and had questioned the bracelet Hoggle had been wearing on his wrist.

"Hoggle!" Jareth rolled his eyes at the correction.

"Yes," he continued, "I would very much like to remind you that I _am_ your king, and as such any orders I give you I expect you to follow." He raised an eyebrow. "Unless of course you would like another trip to the stench? Because if you keep going as you are, I can personally guarantee that is where you'll end up."

Hoggle wanted to back down, Sarah could see that, and knew that it was only his affection for her that was keeping him going.

"Hoggle," she said, earning his attention. "I'm fine. Jareth isn't going to do anything."

He gaped at her. "You honestly believe the rat? He—"

She cut him off, glaring. "Hoggle, do you _want_ to go back to the Bog of Eternal Stench?" It was the thing she knew he was afraid of most.

Hoggle regarded her uncertainly. "No…but I still don't like you's here with him Sarah."

"Then what a good thing it is that I don't give a damn about what you like." Jareth retorted. "Begone, Hoghead. I'll let you visit Sarah later."

Ducking his head, Hoggle toddled off, closing the door to the throne room behind him. Sarah blinked in shock, not caring when Jareth grabbed her arm and began to lead her to a corridor of stairs. And yet, she noticed that it wasn't the same stairwell that had taken her to the Escher room, but a different one.

_Did he even notice that he said Hoggle could come see me? Why would he allow Hoggle to visit me? Then again, why did he allow me to continue to call on Hoggle and Sir Didymus and Ludo? Hoggle told me that Jareth knew I continued to call on them after the victory party; why didn't he put the fear of Jareth into Hoggle and put a stop to it?_

The stairwell grew wider as they walked, and noticed that everything began to look nicer…_cleaner_. No black feathers everywhere, no mysterious puddles, no garbage or junk littered everywhere. There was even a pretty purple tapestry hung every few feet or so. She didn't know how Jareth managed to keep this area clean, what with the goblins around, and then she recalled another conversation she'd had with her friends, only this one with Sir Didymus.

"_Sir Didymus, how does Jareth live down there?" Sarah asked thoughtfully one day, during a game of one-on-one Scrabble with the tiny fox-knight. Ambrosious was lying down with Merlin on Sarah's bedroom floor. _

"_What dost thou mean, my lady? The king lives in the castle beyond the goblin city." He said, little whiskers twitching._

"_I know, but I mean, all I really saw was a filthy throne room and that room of staircases." She wrinkled her nose. "And surely he doesn't live with the goblins, does he? Between what Hoggle told me about them and what I saw on my run, I'd think he'd want to get as far from them as possible."_

_The little knight sighed. "My lady, the king doth not really enjoy his position, if you must know. I doth not know how he came unto his throne and title, only that Jareth be the goblin king and that he shall always be the goblin king. A price of immortality, you know; one doth not die and allow another to take over."_

"_So he's going to live in that castle forever, surrounded by those goblins?" she wrinkled her nose. "They're not really bad, not the few I've met, but they're…a handful, to say the least."_

"_They be rapscallions, my lady, with no code of honor and no chance of earning any sort of title. But having been their ruler for so long, Jareth hath become inured to their antics."_

"_But doesn't he ever want peace and quiet?" Sarah asked, considering her letters. She had a crap hand, with her best word being "hat" for four points, if she placed a letter on the double letter score square._

"_But of course, my lady. I hath been told that the king doth not allow _any_ goblin in his rooms for any reason, nor are they allowed in his library, and he doth have no qualms with expelling the goblins from his throne room when he grows of them."_

_Sarah nodded, placing her letters on the board with a sigh and adding her four measly points onto her score. Sir Didymus contemplated his letters and with a cry of victory placed a good portion of them on the board._

_Sarah swore when she counted out how many points that word had been worth, and with a grumble added them to his score._

As Sarah followed the goblin king up the winding flight of stairs, she figured that he was leading her to where the rooms were, and judging from the immaculate condition of everything, she figured that he took the added precaution of banning the goblins from the stairwell entirely.

It wasn't until they neared what she thought was the top of the stairs that the came upon an ornately carved door, and she thought that finally they would stop their trek, but they didn't and Sarah didn't ask what was behind the passed-up door. She could find out later.

Another few feet of stairs and they came upon another door, this one carved just as ornately but it possessed an almost unused air about, like Jareth didn't spend much time in there. Maybe this was a guest bedroom? She looked down the last steps to the top, and saw another door. Only the last two doors were placed much closer to each other, the first door much farther back down the stairs.

"This will be your room. It has everything you'll need." Jareth said crisply, opening the door. Sarah walked into the murky room, expecting at any moment for Jareth to slam the door shut and laugh maniacally, having locked her in some dungeon in a tower or something like that.

"I shall bring you dinner. We'll talk then." She looked back at him, seeing him smirk. He moved forward, and swiftly kissed the corner of her mouth. She flinched at the contact from the shock of it, but also from the fact that it was a kiss from the goblin king.

"Till then precious," he murmured, lips just a hairsbreadth away from her mouth, his eyes closed.

_What does he want with me?_ She thought a little desperately as he left, closing the door behind him. She didn't listen for the click of a lock tumbling into place, didn't even bother to take in her surroundings, which were barely visible in the muted sunlight filtering through the dark, heavy drapes. She saw a large shape with four posters that could only be a bed, and running to it, she flung herself down onto it to land on her stomach. Burying her face in the slightly musty coverlet, she finally did what she'd wanted to do since Jareth had come to claim her; she cried her everlasting heart out.

* * *

**Me: Okay, I'm not sure I like this chapter too much, despite all the S/J interaction and how long it is…It feels weird to me somehow, maybe a little off? Thoughts?**

**Sarah: Aw, I'm crying! Nice going Jareth, you made me cry!**

**Jareth looks at me: I thought you said I was to be somewhat mean in this story? Looks to me that I was being nice.**

**Me, frowning at Jareth: Yeah, well, give it some time. You might just become a bastard yet!**

**Anyway, hope you liked the chapter, but feel free to tell me if you hated it! I'm kind of looking for some criticism.**


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